Rebellion for the Planet of the Walking Dead
by The Flying Hawaiian 001
Summary: After a brutal encounter with the Saviors, Caesar and a few remaining apes seek vengeance for the loss and capture of many of their tribe. Desperate, hate-filled, and angry, Caesar joins forces with Rick Grimes, a man with the same enemy: Negan. Together, they wage war on the Saviors, beginning a brutal conflict that will end Negan's reign of terror for good.
1. Chapter 1

_**Rebellion for the Planet of the Walking Dead**_

Chapter One: _Animal_

 _In the year 2016, after a group of apes, who were exposed to the ALZ-113 drug, a failed drug meant for the purpose of curing Alzheimer's that was tested on them, escaped from captivity and took shelter in a San Francisco forest, humans were exposed to the drug as well._

 _People infected with what came to be known as the 'Simian Flu' spread all across the world. But nobody realized that Hell on Earth was coming, until it was too late. Far too late._

 _The humans who were infected and killed by the ALZ-113 virus came back to life. But they didn't come back as themselves. They came back as creatures of the undead, with a singular goal: to feed on human flesh._

 _Three years later, the highly intelligent group of apes, led by Caesar, the ape who gave the ALZ-113 to the other apes, resides in a Georgia forest, unprepared for the war that awaits them._

* * *

In the Georgia forest's cave, Caesar slept on the hard ground, peacefully dreaming next to his wife, Cornelia. Sleeping on a different, but close, part of the ground, were his two sons, Blue Eyes, his eldest at two years old, and Cornelius, who was no older than three months old.

Caesar's dreaming was then abruptly ended by the sound of a shotgun going off.

His eyes shot open, and his upper body went upward. Very quickly, the other apes, woke up as well. Maurice, an orangutan and the first ape that Caesar met, motioned to him. " _What is happening?_ ", Maurice asked, using sign language. " _I am not sure. But I'm going to find out._ "

Caesar then motioned to Koba, his second-in-command, as well as Rocket, another member of the Ape Army. " _Follow my lead. I'm going to investigate that noise. But, before you follow me, mount the horses, and grab the spears. We don't know what's out there._ " Caesar motioned.

He turned to Cornelia, who had a panicked look on her face. " _Don't worry. Maurice, Koba, Rocket and I will see to it that nothing happens to any of us._ " Caesar pressed his head to Cornelia's. Her worried expression had vanished, and soon, Caesar left his sleeping spot to see what was going on.

* * *

Caesar went in the direction towards where he had heard the noise coming from. He quietly jumped from branch to branch, tree to tree. Eventually, he saw lights. The headlights of a truck.

Surrounding the truck were multiple men, all armed, surrounding an ape. Hunter, one of the apes who volunteered to take watch, that evening.

"Oh, man! I was thinking that, for a second there, we were screwed! Nice shot, Dave!" One of them said, before enthusiastically slapping the man who had fired his weapon on the back.

Caesar glared at the men, as they passed around high-fives, and patted one another on the back as a sign of celebration for their lives. He then turned his attention towards Koba, who stood on his horse next to Maurice and Rocket, who were also ready for battle.

Caesar slowed raised his open hand, motioning to the other apes, before clenching it in a fist. Koba grinned eagerly, and he, Maurice, and Rocket, rode their horses into the view of the men.

The apes raised their spears, as the men took a step back, frightened by what they were seeing. "JESUS! There's more of them!" One of the men said.

Then, Caesar jumped from the area where he was perched, and stood next to Koba. He, Koba, Maurice, and Rocket glared at the men, who stood, their weapons raised, shaking with fear.

Caesar looked at the men, then at the dead body of Hunter, then back at the men. "Why… are… you here? Why… did you shoot… Hunter?"

The man who shot Hunter was now cocking his rifle. "It can talk! It can fucking talk!" The other men also started cocking their weapons.

" _Caesar… do we engage?_ " Maurice motioned. "No… don't-" Caesar was then interrupted by Koba's war cry, as he jumped off of his horse, and threw his spear at Dave, the man who shot Hunter. Then, he landed on another man, and began to beat him to death. He killed the man by wrapping his arms around the man's neck, and snapping it.

As the man fell to the ground, he dropped his shotgun. Koba grabbed the weapon, and fired a round at one of the other hunters' hand, blowing it off instantly.

"KOBA! NO!" Caesar said, as he pushed Koba to the ground. The shotgun that Koba was wielding had fallen to the ground, right next to Caesar's feet.

As Koba got up from the ground, Caesar grabbed the shotgun, and aimed it at the other men, who started to back away. One of them, a young man, had tears in his eyes. Caesar could see the fear in his eyes. The panic.

"P-please. Let us go. We'll never come back!" A blonde-haired man said. Caesar took notice of the fact that half of his face was burned. He grimaced, and lowered the shotgun. "Go. And never come back. Or there will be consequences." Caesar said, in a low, but clear, voice.

The men got into their trucks, and took off. As soon as they were out of view, Caesar turned to Koba, who looked down at the ground, clearly angry.

" _You should not have done that._ " Caesar motioned to Koba. " _Forgive me, Caesar. But you cannot ignore the fact that they killed a good ape, and a good friend._ " Caesar looked grimly at the dead body of Hunter. " _Come. Let us do justice to his life by burying his body._ "

Caesar and Maurice lifted Hunter's dead body onto Maurice's horse. And then, Koba, Maurice, and Rocket slowly followed Caesar, Hunter's body dangling from the back of Maurice's horse, as Caesar slowly walked back to the cave.

 _Author's Note: This was just an idea I had. I thought to myself, "how great would it be if I told a story about TWD and Planet of the Apes?'. So, after some thought, I decided to write this story! This is going to retcon the events of both Dawn and War. Speaking of which, I saw War on Sunday, and I loved it! It was fantastic, and not what I expected it to be! It's definitely one of my favorite movies of the year, so far. I had a problem with writers block when writing Thunderbird. I don't really know what to do now, and, after rereading it a couple of times, I feel I could have written it better, and that I kind of rushed that one. I will continue writing it eventually, but, for now, it's being put on hold, especially to make way for this story if you guys like this. Anyway, thank you all for reading, please leave a review, and, as always, take care, and I'll see you next time!_

 _P.S, I am aware of the explosion that brought down Minnehaha Academy. My heart and prayers go out to those who were caught in the explosion, those who lost their lives, those who are still trapped under the rubble, those who were involved with the incident, and those who have been affected by it, which includes the families of those unfortunate people._


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two: Hi._

The next morning, word had spread quickly about what happened the previous night. The apes panicked and argued amongst themselves. Multiple conversations about how they were more in danger than they had been in the past three years were going all around the cave.

Even before Caesar, Cornelia, Blue Eyes, and even Cornelius woke up, the apes were arguing.

When Caesar eventually did wake up, he already knew what was going on, and he knew that he needed a plan in case the men came back, and especially if they came back with more numbers.

He went into the center of the circle where the apes had congregated. Then, he raised his right hand. As a result, all of the apes stopped communicating at the speed of lightning.

Caesar slowly dropped his hand down, and opened his mouth to speak. "If… humans… come back… we must… be ready. They… may have… more men. We must… be prepared… to fight… and… defend ourselves. For… our families… our home… and our future."

The apes nodded their heads in agreement. Even Koba agreed, though it was probably for the fact that there was now an opportunity to bring pain to more humans.

Later in the day, after returning from hunting for food, Caesar found that Cornelia sat on their makeshift bed, cradling the young Cornelius, and holding the right hand of Blue Eyes, her back turned to him.

When Cornelia heard Caesar's footsteps, she turned to face him. " _Cornelia, is something wrong?_ " He motioned to her. She looked down at the ground in response, before looking back up.

" _I fear for our safety. I fear for our home. For our son. For you. What if the humans come back, and are stronger than we hope they are?_ " She motioned to him.

Then, Caesar walked over, with sympathy in his eyes. He pressed his forehead to Cornelia's, who accepted the gesture. "Apes… strong. More… than humans. We… will be alright." He said to her.

Then, as he moved his forehead away from hers, Caesar looked into Cornelia's eyes. " _Very well. Just be safe._ " She motioned to him. Caesar smiled, and said, "Always."

* * *

A week after the encounter with the humans, and after much planning, which resulted in the decision to have a platoon of apes guard the wall made of stone and logs, many apes, including Caesar, Maurice, Rocket, and Koba, sat on the branches of trees in the forest, armed with spears, and ready to attack anyone who dared try to come close to their home.

Amongst the guard apes, Caesar sat atop a tree branch. He sat, a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. Though he was certain that, with the number of apes that were in the tribe, there was still a great possibility that the clan would suffer many casualties.

Since the death of Hunter and Koba's actions towards the humans, Caesar also worried that, in spite of his warning, they would come back. And if the did, they would destroy everything that Caesar and his tribe had built.

For that reason, Caesar had doubled up on protecting the tribe. Every night, multiple apes would stand guard near the wall they had built using logs from down by the river, armed with spears, and always vigilant, ready to fight if they had to.

It was dark out. The moonlight illuminated his face, and shined down upon him. It felt peaceful. It almost made him forget why he was in that tree in the first place, and not in bed, sleeping next to his wife and sons.

For hours, Caesar sat, hopeful that nothing would happen. Hopeful that nobody would be hurt.

After those long, tiresome hours, Caesar's eyes began to flutter, and the tight grasp of sleep started to clench onto him, like a hand. Then, in the corner of his eye, something other than the moon began to shine.

It was a bottle, most likely empty. A man wearing a hood From the looks of it, it was a bottle of alcohol. Then, he saw a lighter, and a small container filled with an unrecognizable substance.

The left hand that belonged to the hooded stranger carefully poured the container of the substance into the empty bottle. And then, he clicked the lighter, and put it to the tip of the bottle, igniting a flame within.

The hooded stranger raised his arm to throw the bottle, but Caesar, as quickly and as swiftly as he could, jumped from tree branch to tree branch, until he was directly above the human.

But, just as he jumped to the ground, the man with the hood over his head threw the molotov cocktail at the wall.

As the wall set ablaze, multiple men, all brandishing weapons, which ranged from assault rifles to molotov cocktails to machetes, ran towards… their home.

"No…" Caesar said, as he observed multiple apes riding on horses, fearlessly aiming their spears, ready to attack the men they were up against.

As Caesar ran to join in on the fighting, multiple male apes fought their attackers. Among them was Koba, who relentlessly brutalized man after man, scratching at their faces, clawing their eyes out, snapping their necks, and beating their heads against the ground.

" _Koba… what have you done?_ " Caesar thought to himself, as he ran toward the battle. Then, out of nowhere, he suddenly felt a seething pain in his right leg. Something had pierced his flesh. A bullet.

As he fell to the ground, he observed as multiple apes fell off their horses, dead or barely conscious. He saw Koba, who was being pried off of a man whose neck he had snapped, and whose corpse he was still beating on.

He watched as Maurice, Rocket, and Red were captured in a net, and he grimaced as they struggled to get out.

But the straw that broke the camel's back was seeing the men running. Running towards… the caves. Their home. The women, the children. Cornelia. Blue Eyes. Cornelius.

Caesar watched multiple female apes be pushed out of the cave, a gun to their heads. The children were carried in the arms of the armed men, crying and screaming.

"No…" He croaked. Caesar began to crawl towards the chaos, even though he knew it was no use. Then, he was kicked in the stomach, stopping him altogether.

His unseen attacker kicked Caesar's body over, and onto his back. He brandished a crossbow. His face was horribly scarred, and the only thing that almost covered it was his blonde hair. Caesar realized who he was in an instant.

"You… you were with those men… that night." Caesar groaned. "Aww, you recognize me. I'm touched. Hopefully, after tonight, you won't forget me. Now, sleep tight." The man sadistically said, smiling as he raised his foot. The last thing that Caesar saw was the man's foot colliding with his face.

* * *

When he woke up, and his eyes had opened, Caesar found that everything was dark. Surely, it wasn't the dark of the outside world. No, this was darkness caused by something blinding his vision.

He tried to move his hands, but found that they were bound together. A cold, metallic object surrounded them. "Handcuffs." Caesar murmured.

All around him, there was anything but quiet. He could hear the men outside of wherever he was being held, talking. Talking about "which ape would bite the dust first", or "who was gonna get a taste of Lucille".

Then, for a moment, all was quiet. The only thing that Caesar could hear were the crickets outside, chirping away through the night. It was almost… peaceful. Just like it had been, God-knows how many hours ago at the cave. And, just like before, the quiet was interrupted, by the opening of two doors.

Two pairs of hands grabbed Caesar by the shoulders, and dragged him out of where he was being held prisoner. As he was being dragged, he could somewhat see the multitude of lights that surrounded him. They followed his eyes wherever he was being dragged to.

And then, once he sat down, and the thing that had covered his face had been removed, he saw exactly what he feared: multiple members of the tribe, all of them scared out of their minds, kneeling on the hard ground, as the men who attacked them surrounded them all, weapons in both of their hands.

For a few moments, Caesar just looked in shock. Sweat had drenched his black fur. He desperately moved his eyes around, hopeful to find his wife and child.

Then, a skinny, middle-aged, balding man with graying black hair, who was also sporting a mustache, walked up to Caesar. He was smiling from ear to ear, like a madman. "Dwight told me about you and your… people. He said you looked humanoid. I didn't believe him. Well, not at first, but now? My God, you could be in a modern arts museum."

Caesar looked up at the man. The sweat had not stopped running down his body. His heart rate was faster than the speed of lightning. "Nothing? You've got… absolutely nothing to say?" The man continued talking at the petrified Caesar.

"You're the leader. You have to be. You just look like it. Sure, the orangutan looks big and strong, but he couldn't be the one in charge. The monkey that attacked our people? He could be, but he's probably not. No, someone who acts on impulse like that? He's not fit to be a leader. No, you have the look for it. You… are… a leader. Through and through." The man continued.

Then, the man walked over to an recreational vehicle. The lights were off inside of it. "I think it's time you met our leader." The man said, as he knocked on the door.

After the man knocked, the door opened, and another one walked out. He too was grinning. He sported a beard, and graying black hair. He was wearing a leather jacket, and the bottom of his boots were marked with blood. But the thing that stood out the most about him to Caesar was what was in his gloved left hand: a baseball bat, a Louisville Slugger, wrapped in barbed wire.

"You know, I would ask, 'are we pissing our pants, yet', but, seeing as how you don't wear pants, I'm just gonna ask you this: are we pissing on the ground, yet?" The man said, as he circled around the apes, the bat rested on his left shoulder. "Yeah, it's gonna be pee-pee city here, in a few minutes. And I'll be elected the Goddamn mayor!" He exclaimed.

He circled around the apes, until he set his eyes on Caesar. He flashed a horrible, twisted grin, and slowly walked over to the kneeling simian.

When he was directly in front of Caesar, the ape looked up directly in the man's eyes. "So, you're the leader, aren't you? Well, a leader's gotta have a name, right? A strong name, one that will be remembered forever. So, what is it?"

Caesar looked down at the ground. His mouth was open, but no words could be formed. "Okay, I get it. I should introduce myself." He then took the bat from his shoulder, and pointed it at the ground. "Hi. I'm Negan."

Caesar still would not speak. "Nothing? I mean, Dwight said you could talk. But, then again, maybe he was lying. Maybe he should have his face burned again. Were you lying, Dwi-" "STOP THIS!" Caesar erupted, as multiple men took a step back, while others aimed their weapons at him.

Negan began laughing. But it wasn't a happy laugh. It was cold, dark, and feigning a sight of any humor in the current situation. "So, you can talk! Son of a motherfucker! Well, if you can talk, then you very fucking well can tell me your name! So, let me ask you again, very nicely, for the last time: WHAT'S. YOUR. NAME?"

"... Caesar…"

"Caesar. I like that. Who named you that? Ah, you know what? Doesn't fucking matter, because pretty soon, you will no longer matter. Now, you, or one of your apes, it doesn't fucking matter who it was, attacked and killed two of my guys. That's two people you owe me for. Now look, I don't want to hurt your people. But, for killing my guys, you gotta pay. So, in exchange for the lives of my two men, I am going to beat the everlasting shit out of two of your apes. And I'm gonna start with the one who started it."

"Your men… shot our friend. Your people… started this." Caesar said, trembling. Negan laughed. "Yeah, but still, your ape friend, whoever the sunova bitch is, killed two of my people. And, when I sent more of my people to come and get your people, what did your friend do? He killed more of my people, that's what! So, for that, he still has to pay. Dwight, grab the dumb animal that killed our guys from this crowd, and bring him to me."

Dwight, the man with half of his face burned, did as he was told. He searched the kneeling crowd of apes, until he finally set his sights on Koba. "Get over here." He said, as he grabbed a struggling Koba, who had handcuffs on, and dragged him across the ground, and over to Negan.

"Holy Jesus. You look like a fucking badass!" Negan yelled, as Koba kneeled on the ground. Then, the ape looked the man directly in the eye, and glared at him.

"Well, if that stink-eye is any indication, you are a fucking badass! That makes it even sadder that I have to bash your skull in." Negan brought the bat close to Koba's scarred eye. "This here is Lucille. And she is fucking awesome. You know why she's so awesome? Because, for some reason, whenever I connect her with somebody's head, the head just pops open!"

As the apes collectively gasped, Koba just continued to glare at Negan. The man took notice of this. "Wow. You really aren't like these other apes, are you? No, you're not afraid. So, for that reason, I'm not gonna kill you."

He looked up, and talked directly at the other men. "You see this, fellas? You didn't kill something like this! No, you don't. Simon, Dwight, put him back in line." The two men did as they were told, and put the ape back in his place.

"So, since I decided not to kill him, you all must be thinking that I'm not gonna punish you. Wrong! I still need to punish you, and I still need to teach you a lesson. So, I'm gonna choose, by playing a little game."

Negan went over to Caesar, and raised the bat to his face. "Eeenie…" He began, before moving to another random ape. "Meenie…" He continued, moving from one ape to another. "Miney…" He moved to Maurice. "Mo…" He moved on to Rocket. "Catch…" He went over to Koba, who snarled at him. "A tiger…" He moved on to Tinker and Ash, Rocket's wife and baby son. "By…" He moved towards Red, one of the guards assigned to protect the wall. Then, he went to… Cornelia, holding Blue Eyes and Cornelius, much to Caesar's horror. "His toe…"

At that point it was a blur to Caesar. For the first time since he had been brought to the primate shelter in San Francisco.

"If…"

"He hollers…"

"Let him go…"

"My Mother…"

"Told me…"

"To pick…"

"The very…"

"Best one…"

"And you…"

"Are…"

Negan paused for a few moments, and raised the bat to his own face, before pointing it directly at… Red.

While everyone else looked at Red, especially his wife, Red looked down at the ground for a few moments, and closed his eyes. Then, as Negan walked over, the bat at his side, Red looked up at him, accepting the situation, and without any fear in his eyes.

"If any of you try anything, I'll rip the fucker with the scars on his face's balls off, and I'll shove 'em down the throat of one of your children. You people can breathe, you can blink, you can cry. Fuck, you're all gonna be doin' that!" Negan said, before raising the bat, and smashing it down on Red's head.

The other apes gasped, some screamed, but Red's wife, Marissa, began to cry and hyperventilate. "Oh, man! What a swing! And look at that, he's taking it pretty well, if you ask me!" Negan said, as Red looked up at the man, and spat at his feet.

"Fine, be like that. But, just know this: you might be a badass, but you went out like a fucking bitch!" He said, before raising the bat again, and smashing Red's head in.

The ape fell to the ground, slowly dying. Caesar looked in horror, as Negan continued to beat Red. The bat continuously smashed into Red's head, and soon, there wasn't much of a head left. Just brains. Brains, bones, and blood. Splattered all over the other apes. All over Marissa. All over Negan's boots and pants. And it covered the bat.

Soon, Red's head had become nothing more than soup. Negan raised the bat over his shoulder, laughing. "Oh, man! Now _that_... _that_ was a fuckton of fun!" He yelled.

The other apes screeched, and whimpered. Caesar looked at Cornelia. For the first time since he last talked to her before he went on guard duty, their eyes met. Both were afraid. But both were afraid for different reasons.

"Now, as fun as that was for me, I know that it had to have been painful for you. So, in that case, I'm gonna make sure that the next ape I kill will get double what I just did to this fatass! But, this time, I'm just gonna swing Lucille for a little bit, and close my eyes for ten seconds, and whoever she lands on, she gets a taste of!"

He closed his eyes, and swung the bat around. "One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… ten." The bat had landed on Tinker.

"NO!" Rocket yelled. He got up from kneeling, and ran towards Negan, but before he could get to the man, he was shot in the leg, knocking him to the ground. Dwight, Simon, and the other men drew their guns on him.

"Nope. No-no. Bad ape. Put him back in line. If he does it again, shoot him." He stood over Tinker, and raised the bat. Unlike Red, she was terrified. If she could speak, like Caesar, and if she had more time, she would tell the man who would be her killer how she was terrified.

"You're afraid. Good. Remember that." Negan said. Then, he swung the bat, and it landed on Tinker's head. Rocket yelled as Negan continued to smash his wife's skull in.

Caesar closed his eyes, feeling guilty for what was going through his head. He had thought to himself of how he was somewhat relieved that it wasn't Cornelia, or Blue Eyes, or even Cornelius, in the situation that Tinker was in. He knew that it was selfish to think that way. But, at the same time, was it?

Once Tinker's head had become nothing more than the same mush that Red's head had also been turned into, Negan laughed once more. Then, he walked over to Caesar.

"You see that, Caesar? That is what happens when you mess with me and my people. Now, as fun as that was, I didn't want to do it. I don't want to hurt you or your people! Hell, I want you to work for me! Speaking of which…" Negan whistled, and suddenly, all of his men began to grab multiple apes, including Cornelia, Blue Eyes, Koba, even young Cornelius, and dragged them into trucks.

* * *

Soon, there were only three apes left: Caesar, Maurice, Luca, and a grief-stricken Rocket. "You know what to do, fellas." Negan said, as he walked away, laughing maliciously. Then, eight men, including Simon and Dwight, began to beat the four apes.

They smashed crowbars against their bodies. They used stun guns. They even used their bare hands to beat them senseless. Eventual, after at least ten minutes or so, seven of the eight men started to walk off.

However, Dwight stayed behind, and kneeled next to Caesar, who laid on the ground, beaten, and half-conscious. "See ya later, Caesar. Don't worry. We'll take good care of your apes. Oh, and if you try to do anything to stop us, I'll make sure that all of them suffer." Dwight's threat was then followed by a kick to Caesar's ribcage.

As Dwight walked away, Caesar looked at the man, tears in his eyes, and blood in his mouth, and he whispered to himself, "I'm going... to kill... all of you."

 _Author's Note: Well, that was brutal! Yeah, this is the start of a war. A war that will have many casualties. CrissCrossover, I'm happy that you think it's a cool concept, and I'm excited for you to see where I take this story! Glad to know you also loved War! I think that I'm gonna see it again before school starts! HakaishinChampa, thanks! I hope that this story will just get better and better, for you and all of my readers! Also, my condolences go to you and the people who live by the Minnehaha Academy. CheesyGarlicMan, yeah, I thought, 'what if the Simian Flu didn't just kill people, but also turned them into zombies?' Glad to know that you love the idea! Killshot (P.S, great name), I plan on having them join forces with Rick's group. Anyway, thank you all for reading, please leave a review, and, as always, take care, and I'll see you next time!_

 _P.S, I am aware of the events in Charlottesville over last weekend. My thoughts and prayers are with those who were involved with and affected by it, and I am sincerely sorry if any of my readers know people or were themselves involved with the events of last weekend. It makes me think to myself, 'what the Hell has happened to this world?'_


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three: Take It_

When Caesar's eyes opened for the first time in many hours, he saw that Maurice, Rocket, and Luca, all on the ground, slowly waking up, as well.

Caesar, mustering up whatever strength he had left after the events of last night, got up, walked over to Maurice, and offered him his hand. Maurice gently pushed it away, and got up by himself. Rocket and Luca did the same.

" _What we do now, Caesar?_ " Maurice motioned to Caesar. Caesar, with blood and tears in his eyes, looked down at the ground. "I'm not sure." He said. "But… we have to… find them. Find… family."

The four began walking. As they passed the dead bodies of Red and Tinker, however, Rocket immediately dropped to the ground, and began sobbing.

He held his head in his hands, and broke down entirely. With sympathy in his eyes, Caesar moved next to Rocket, and gently put his hand on his shoulder. "I… am sorry… Rocket. We… will bury their bodies… to honor their memory. Do… not worry. We… will get… vengeance."

* * *

After burying the bodies, in the forest near their old home, they found some horses that were left untouched by Negan's men. They got onto the horses, and began to ride.

After a few minutes of riding on the road, Luca motioned to Caesar, " _Caesar! Look!_ " Caesar averted his eyes to what Luca was pointing at. Tracks. Truck tracks.

"We might… be able to… follow them… if these are their tracks. Come. Let's go." Caesar said, before he urged his horse to go in the direction of the tracks. As his horse ran, the other apes followed suit.

They were in the woods for many hours. For the longest time, all they could see were trees and truck tracks. But they all knew not to question Caesar. They were all well aware that nothing would take his eyes off of the road.

Fortunately for them, they didn't see any walkers. That in-and-of itself would have made the situation worse.

* * *

Eventually, their patience paid off. It was nighttime, and they were standing directly behind multiple trucks. " _There's four trucks, here. Get inside, and make sure that there's at least some of our tribe in them._ " Maurice, Rocket, and Luca nodded their heads, and moved on to the other three trucks.

Caesar opened the lift-door of the truck in front of him. In his mind, he was hopeful to find some apes, any of them, it didn't matter if they were a part of his family or not.

When the lift-door was fully open, the expression on Caesar's face turned into one that was a mixture of anger and sadness. There were no apes in the truck. Only weapons.

Caesar grabbed a rifle, and slung it over his back. He stepped out of the truck, and motioned to Maurice, Rocket, and Luca. " _Anything?_ " He asked. " _Nothing._ _In any of ours._ " Maurice motioned to Caesar.

Although he was disheartened, Caesar remained determined. " _There are rifles in here._ _Grab them, if you must._ " He motioned to his three friends.

All but Maurice grabbed a firearm. When Rocket and Luca came out of the truck that Caesar inspected, they were brandishing weapons, Rocket with an AK-47, Luca with a sniper rifle.

"Let's go." Caesar said, quietly. The four apes made their way back to their horses, but, just as Caesar was mounting his, he heard a familiar voice, as well as some familiar words: "Eenie… meenie… miney… mo..."

* * *

Rick Grimes watched as a man with graying black hair and a beard, sporting a leather coat, and wielding a baseball bat, that he had learned was Negan, the man he thought he killed only days earlier, walked around in a circle.

Rick was lined up amongst eleven people, including himself. His friends, the people he had come to consider family.

Carl, Daryl, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Abraham, Sasha, Rosita, Eugene, and Aaron. Names of the people that he had become acquainted with. Names that he would remember until the day that he died.

One of them, possibly even he himself, was about to die. At the hands of a madman with a baseball bat. The bat was on Maggie, now. Poor, pregnant Maggie. Sweat drenched her head, and rolled down her like rain on a tree. "Catch…"

The bat moved to Daryl. "A tiger…" Negan continued to speak, before moving to Glenn. "By…" He moved to Abraham… "His toe…"

"If…" Eugene.

"He hollers…" Carl.

"Let him go…" Aaron.

"My Mother…" Michonne.

"Told me…" Sasha.

"To pick…" Daryl, again.

"The very…" Rosita.

"Best one..." Rick, himself.

"And you…" Maggie, again.

"Are…" Glenn, again.

Then, Negan stopped talking, and pointed the bat at multiple people, including Rick, before turning his back to them. Then, he spun around, and pointed the bat at…

"It." Carl. " _No…_ " "NO!" Rick yelled, as he tried to get up. Then, he was knocked down by Dwight, who was holding Daryl's crossbow. Dwight held Rick down on the ground, and aimed the stolen weapon at him. Other men trained their weapons on Rick, as well.

As Carl was brought forward, Rick, as well as the others, watched in horror at what was about to happen. They couldn't believe the unbearable finality of the situation they were in.

Some of them closed their eyes, bowed their heads, and prayed. Some could only look down at the ground in fear. Rick was the only one who was forced to watch, helpless in this scenario. Unable to save one of the only things left that he would willingly fight for.

"Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the pregnant lady's tongue off, and feed it to whoever you feel like." Negan said, to a kneeling Carl. Then, Carl did the unexpected, and looked at Negan directly in the eye, only to glare at the man.

"I'm not scared of you." He said, with no fear evident in his voice. Negan could only smile, and say, "Good. But the rest of you… you can breathe. You can blink. You can cry. Hell, you're all gonna be doing that!"

Then, as Negan raised the bat, something that could only be called a miracle happened. Somebody, or something, somewhere, shot Negan in the right hand.

As Negan yelled out in pain, everybody looked to see where the shot came from. "Look!" One of them yelled, amongst the commotion. "IT'S THE APE!" Another yelled. This prompted Negan to not focus on the pain in his hand, along with the blood trickling from it, and to look up at the top of one of the trucks.

* * *

Atop the truck stood Caesar, brandishing a shotgun, and reloading said shotgun. He jumped down from where he was, and landed directly in front of Negan.

"Hi, Caesar…" Negan said, smiling, in spite of the pain. "Where are the remaining members of my tribe?" Caesar said through gritted teeth, aiming the shotgun at Negan.

Rick could only stare in bewilderment at what he was seeing. The one who saved his son's life wasn't even a person. It was one of the creatures that was the reason for the apocalypse in the first place.

"You think I'm just gonna tell you that? Wow, you are not as smart as I thought you were!" Negan said, laughing. His laughing was cut short by Caesar aiming the gun closer to his eyes. "Tell me… or I'll put a bullet between your eyes." He threatened.

Negan chuckled darkly, while the other men aimed their weapons at Caesar. "You kill me, and they'll kill you. You get that, don't you?" He mockingly asked Caesar. "Then it's time for plan B." Caesar remarked, smirking. Negan raised his eyebrows. "Plan B?" Caesar lowered the rifle and ducked. "NOW!" He yelled.

Then, Rocket and Luca began firing their weapons from the trees above, where nobody could see them. One by one, the men in Negan's group fell.

The men aimed their rifles above, but whenever they thought that they had a lock on the apes, the apes moved to a different position. Then, Caesar looked to the humans kneeling on the ground, ducking as they hoped to not get shot by any of the bullets whizzing through the air.

"GO!" He yelled at the humans. As if on cue, the humans got up, and ran towards a pathway in the forest. Even Rick managed to shake off the fear he had felt for so many minutes, and started running.

However, just as he was in safe distance from the chaotic firefight going on before his eyes, Rick looked back, and took a minute or so to observe what was going on. He especially took notice of the ape that saved his son.

At the same time, Caesar tried to keep a focus on Negan. However, amidst the bullets being fired, and the countless men falling to the ground, he found it hard to find the man.

Then, he saw Negan, ordering his men, saying things like "retreat", or "FALL BACK". The men followed his orders, ran towards the trucks, and got in. Even he himself ran to one.

But, just as he was close to a truck, he heard a low growl. He turned around, and saw Caesar, standing before him, angry, and looking as if he was ready to kill him. Negan then took a gun from his hip, an Uzi, and began to fire at the ape.

Evading the bullets, Caesar ran towards Negan, and then, he jumped into the air, and pounced on him, knocking the man to the ground.

He began to punch and claw at Negan. He couldn't remember the last time he had beaten a human, or anyone, so mercilessly. Not since the primate shelter.

After a minute or so of being beaten up, a scratched, bloodied Negan spat a tooth out at Caesar, and began to laugh. "WHERE'S MY FAMILY?!" Caesar yelled. Then, Negan stopped laughing, and said, with a smile on his face, "In the same place as mine."

Just before Caesar could even begin to comprehend what the man was saying, he felt a sharp, piercing pain in his right shoulder. He looked, and saw a bullet-shaped hole in his arm.

He looked around, and saw a man holding a weapon, prepared to fire on him, again.

Then, while he was taken off-guard, Negan pushed the ape off him, and began to run towards the truck, again.

As he got to the door, he opened it, and, just as he got in, he turned around, looked at Caesar, and said, "I can't kill you. Not now, Caesar. Not until you've suffered enough. Because a war has just been started… by you." Then, he closed the door to the truck.

As more and more truck started to leave, the man who shot Caesar came closer to him, and aimed the rifle at him, he smirked. Caesar groaned, and saw… the man who was pinned on the ground, knocking the man with the rifle to the ground. Then, he wrapped his hands around the neck of the man, and, not wishing to prolong a painful death, snapped it.

After the man got up from killing the other man, Caesar observed as the man offered him a hand. "Take it." Rick Grimes said to the bleeding Caesar.

 _Author's Note: So, they finally meet. Rick Grimes meets Caesar. Finally! This chapter was so much fun to write! It's just a foretaste of the war that is to come._ _Dedon53, thanks for telling me that you like the story! I'll try to_ _update_ _every week, but, with school starting next Wednesday, it might take a little longer for me to update._ _HakaishinChampa, if you thought the last chapter was good, tell me your thoughts on this one! Anyway, thank you all for reading, please leave a review, and, as always, take care, and I'll see you next time! For now, I'm the Flying Hawaiian 001, and I don't know what I'm gonna do next!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four: Who We Are_

Caesar was awestruck by the man's offer. Not since before the outbreak, before everything had happened, had a human offer him anything other than the potential to be a threat. He was so… conflicted, about a gesture so small, yet, at the same time, so big.

"No… I can… get up… myself." The ape said, as he attempted to get up. The two were amidst the gunfire, the multitudes of Negan's men running away.

Eventually, Caesar was standing once more on his two feet, and he turned to go after the truck that Negan was in. But, before he could, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder, and stop him. He turned, and stared directly into the eyes of Rick Grimes.

"Don't. You won't survive against him." Rick said, attempting to reason with Caesar, who was glaring at him. "What do you know about him? About men like him?" He asked, through gritted teeth.

Rick stood his ground. "I don't know much about him. But I have dealt with men like him, before. Countless times. And, judging by what might have just happened if you didn't save my son, and, possibly, the rest of my people, we wouldn't have stood a chance against him. And, because you saved my son's life, I'm willing to give you a chance to get out of here, alive."

Caesar's angry glare dropped for a moment, as he took in what Rick said. He wanted to kill Negan for what he had done. The bastard deserved it, for what he had done. He killed Red. He killed Tinker. He took the rest of the Apes to God-knows-where.

And yet, at the same time, Caesar knew, deep down, that Rick was right. He wasn't ready to face Negan. Neither of them were. If an entire clan of apes couldn't take him on, how could he?

Caesar exasperatedly sighed, and, after forcing Rick's hand off of him, the man nodded his head, and said, "Let's go. We need to get out of here before we get killed, too."

"Fine. But, as soon as we're out of fire, I want you to explain yourself. The real reason you wanted to get me out of here." He said. "Fine. I'll give you that." Rick said.

As they ran back through the woods, and after Caesar had motioned for Maurice, Rocket, Luca to follow him and Rick, they made their way to a spot where an RV was parked.

The pale moonlight shined on their faces. It was a beautiful sight, especially considering the ugliness that had just occurred. Caesar saw the human group that accompanied Rick. The boy, whose life he had saved, Caesar now realized, had a bandage draped over his right eye.

"Your son… why does he-" Caesar began, only for Rick to interject with, "Let's… let's possibly talk about that, later."

Caesar closed his mouth, and stood back for a moment, as the rest of Rick's people looked in awe at the apes. The boy, Carl, was especially astounded by them.

"Now... why did you come back? To save me? You… you risked your life… for an ape. Why?" Caesar asked, calmly. Rick wiped his sweat-drenched forehead, and began to speak. "You saved my son. For that, I felt I had to help you. And, I heard you say something about your family. Do you… have family? And, did he do something to them?"

Caesar slowly nodded his head. "Yes. That man… Negan… he… he…" Caesar started, only for the memories of Negan smashing Tinker's head in. He could remember the brains being splattered all over the cold, hard ground.

His eyes could only stare at the ground beneath him, at the moment. He then realized that, since he had woken from Negan's attack on them, that he hadn't slept. Well, he had slept. Just not well.

He then felt a seething pain in his shoulder. He looked toward it, and saw something red trickling down his furry body. Blood. "Oh."

Caesar's eyes began to flutter, as he slowly fell to the ground. When he hit, he heard everyone begin to panic. "Oh, shit!" One person, another man with a southern accent, said. "Is he dead?" Another voice, a younger, male voice, interjected. It had to have been the boy. "We need to get a look at him." The voice of a woman interjected.

Then, Caesar heard the familiar growl of Luca, and could just barely see him, Rocket, and Maurice standing in front of his fallen body.

"Please, move out of the way. We need to get a good look at him!" Rick pleaded. Caesar, eyes barely open, saw the other apes standing their ground. He knew they were hesitant to let Rick, and anyone else in his group, help him.

"Maur… Maurice…" Caesar croaked, struggling to stay awake. Instantaneously, Maurice spun around, and kneeled down by Caesar. "Le… let them… do what they must…" He managed to weakly say.

The initially skeptical Maurice slowly nodded his head, and urged Rocket and Luca to move out of the way, in order to make way for the humans.

The two other Apes did as was requested, and moved out of the way. Then, as Caesar's eyes forced themselves shut, over and over again, he caught brief glimpses of Rick and his group moving towards him.

The last thing Caesar saw before he passed out was Rick's hand reaching toward him.

* * *

"Caesar. Caesar! Wake up."

Caesar gasped, sweat drenching his face. He looked around, and saw that he and his family were in the caves, again. It was Cornelia who woke him, and who pressed her forehead to his, as he breathed heavily, in and out, over and over, again.

"Are you alright?" Cornelia asked. Caesar, still breathing, let his rapidly beating heart resume its natural rate, and took his head away from hers.

"No. I wasn't. But… I'm fine now." He said, looking down at the ground, and then at his sons. They slept peacefully next to one another. Caesar was certain that, even if they weren't known beforehand, anyone could tell that they were brothers.

"Did you have a nightmare?" She asked. Caesar slowly nodded his head. "What was it about?" Cornelia asked, almost quietly. "Us. You. The children. The entire tribe. We were all… taken hostage… by a madman." He said. Closing his eyes.

He sighed, and, after what seemed like a long time waiting to open them, he finally opened his eyes only to realize, much to his horror, that he was no longer in the safety and comfort of his home in the woods.

Instead, he was in a cage. A cold, hard, metal cage. He gasped, and ran to the bars. Then, he saw what horrified him the most: the other apes, his entire tribe, the only family he had left, trapped in cages.

They screeched, and moaned, battered and bruised, with blood on their fur, and scars on their bodies. And all Caesar could do was stare in horror and fear at the family he failed, as he clenched the bars of his cage, and let out an anguished cry for help.

* * *

When he awoke, he was breathing heavily. His body lurched forward, and found that the sun was shining in his face. He was no longer on the rocky ground of the outdoor forest. He was in a bed. A bed in a room.

Caesar looked around, and saw that his left shoulder was bandaged. He carefully, slowly placed his right hand on it, and, for a few fleeting moments, felt a pain in his left shoulder. It brought back the memory of being shot by one of Negan's men.

As he stood up, he got off of the bed. He felt weak, and tired, but he would manage. He walked toward the door of the room, and opened it, for it had been shut, beforehand.

When he opened the door, he saw where he was being held: a house. A nice, big house. He was on the second floor of the house, judging by the staircase leading downstairs.

He walked towards the staircase, and descended down to the lower floor. When he got down, he found that it was empty. There was no one to be found on this level of the house. Not a single sign of one of the people that rescued him.

As he walked around, he saw a big dining room, with a kitchen table surrounded by four chairs. 'Perfect for a small family.' Caesar took note, as he explored the house, some more.

He continued looking through the seemingly empty house. It reminded him so much of what his life was like before the apocalypse. Before the world had changed, forever. Before… when he was with Will.

Eventually, he came across a door. A door that would, most likely, lead to the outside world. Caesar stared at the door, and puzzled whether or not he should open it.

After thinking on his decision carefully, for what very well could have been hours, but was, in reality, minutes, Caesar decided to not open it.

"Too risky." He said, before sighing. "It's really not." Another voice said, making Caesar spin around, to see who was talking to him.

When he turned, he saw the same man who had been pleading with Maurice, Rocket, and Luca, the last time he was awake, dressed in a grey shirt and dark-blue jeans, carrying a small, sleeping child in his hands.

Rick gave a small smile, and said, "Good morning." Caesar, cautiously and somewhat suspiciously, also said, "Good morning."

"Uh… have a seat, would you?" Rick asked, motioning to the seats around the table. Caesar nodded his head, and sat down. Rick proceeded to sit across from him, at the table.

For a few moments, there was nothing but silence. Just two individuals, sitting across from each other at a table, staring at one another. Then, Rick spoke. "So, your name is Caesar?"

Caesar slowly nodded his head. "I… I never caught your name." He said, in response. "I'm Rick. Rick Grimes." The man said, never diverting his attention from the ape.

Caesar nodded his head. "Pleased to meet you, Rick." Then, once again, there was silence.

"Thank you for… for bringing me here… wherever we are." Caesar spoke up. Rick chuckled lightly. "Don't mention it." Then, for the first time, Caesar smiled back at Rick. It was a small smile, but, nevertheless, it showed appreciation.

"So… where am I, exactly?" Caesar questioned. Rick gabe a small nod of his head, and said, "You're in a small town called Alexandria. I'd show you around, but, I'm not sure if you're quite up for it, yet."

"You'd be correct. I'm not entirely sure if I want to leave the house just yet. I have a few questions that I need answered." Caesar said. "So do I." Rick inquired.

Caesar sighed, and spoke. "Very well. You ask your question, first." Rick looked at the ape for a moment, before saying anything.

"Why did you save my son? Back in the woods? You could have easily just left us be. But you didn't. Why?" Rick asked, curious as to what Caesar's motivations were.

Caesar looked at Rick, and said, "I… I had seen that man kill, before. He… attacked my home. Killed my friend, and another's wife. Took the members of my tribe prisoner. My wife… my sons… my friend. And he left the three other apes you brought back with you, as well as I, to die."

Rick nodded his head in understanding. "You, you decided to track him down?" Caesar looked forlornly at the table for a moment, before saying, "Yes. That madman… Negan… he took everything from me. My home. My family. And I felt I had to find them. And the only way to find them, I believed, was to hunt him down. And that's where I found your group."

Rick gazed at Caesar, unsure of what to say. If what the ape said was true, that Negan had taken his wife, children, and entire tribe prisoner… it made him fear for what would have happened had Negan done the same thing to him.

"... So, you wanted revenge, and instead, you saved my boy from facing death?" Rick questioned. "Yes. I was not going to stand by and watch that maniac take more lives, or someone else's family." Caesar spoke, looking directly at Rick's face, as a small smile formed on it. Then, Caesar smiled back, though, Rick could tell that it conveyed something else other than happiness. Tiredness, maybe. And perhaps sadness.

At that moment, the child in Rick's hands slowly woke up, and rubbed her tired eyes as she did so. At that moment, Rick beamed when he saw her awake.

"Hey, Judy. God, you slept better than I did." Rick said, talking to the child, even though he knew she wouldn't talk back. The girl, Judith, smiled as he talked to her, and giggled.

While Rick talked to her, Caesar looked curiously at the pair of them. It reminded him of how he was with Blue Eyes and Cornelius, back in the cave. It reminded him of all the times he watched them go to sleep, or play together, or of them with he and Cornelia, together as a family. And it made Caesar think to himself, ' _Where did yesterday go?_ '

"Is she your daughter?" Caesar asked, genuinely curious about the child. At that moment, Rick's smile faltered somewhat, and he set the child down on his lap.

He looked around the room for a moment, as if to make sure that it was only he, Caesar, and his daughter in the room, at that minute. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead, he stuttered, unsure of what to say.

"I… I'm not sure, honestly." Rick said, uncertainty evident in his voice. Caesar immediately regretted asking his question. "I'm… sorry. I should not have asked you that question." He remarked, sadly.

"It's… it's not a problem, Caesar. And, besides, you probably have a question of two of your own that you had for me, right? So, are there any more?" Rick asked, politely.

Caesar slowly nodded his head, before speaking. "Yes. First of all, where are my friends? Are they alright?" He asked. "Yes. They've actually proved useful these past few days, helping out around the community, keeping watch at night. They do that often, before your home was attacked?" Rick replied.

"Yes. Yes, they did." Caesar said, a small grin appearing on his furry face. "Any more questions?" Rick asked. "Just one more: how long have I been asleep for?" Caesar questioned in response. Rick sighed, before saying, "Three days. We've had a doctor check up on you, every now and then."

Caesar nodded his head once more. "Are there any more questions you feel the need to ask me?" The ape questioned. "Actually, yes, there is one more question that I need to ask of you." Rick said, to which Caesar's eyebrows rose.

Rick set Judith down in her seat, and walked over to where Caesar sat at the table. He sat next to him, and looked directly into Caesar's eyes. "Listen, Caesar, after what I saw back in the woods, and hearing your story, I want to make an offer to you: I want you and I to work together."

Caesar understood what Rick meant, but he needed more information. "Elaborate." Caesar said, bluntly. "I want you and your people to work with my people. I want to help you save your apes, as repayment for helping us. You saved the only family I have left, the one thing that I'm still fighting for, and I want to help you save yours." Rick replied. "And after that?" Caesar questioned. "We take the fight to Negan."

Caesar was conflicted as to what he wanted to do. On the one hand, he knew that Rick's intentions were good, and came from a place of genuinely wanting to help him. On the other, he feared that taking the fight to Negan and his men would mean war. And war meant casualties.

"I'm not sure, Rick. I don't know if I'm willing to sacrifice multiple lives, or if you're willing to sacrifice multiple lives, either." Caesar said, unsure of what to do.

Rick nodded his head, aware of what Caesar meant. "I understand, Caesar. But, at the same time, I've seen and heard enough of what this man has done to other communities. And I can't just ignore what he's doing, and what he'll keep doing if someone doesn't stop him. I mean, we can fight him. We have guns, ammo, cars, and we have people who will be willing to fight, with the proper motivation and the right leadership. Think about it, Caesar. We'll save other communities, including yours, and give our children a future. What do you say?"

Rick pursed his lips after saying this, before outstretching his hand, like he did the night of the gunfight.

Caesar pondered what Rick had said. Both knew the risks, and both knew that it may cost them in the end. But, at the same time, they both knew that they couldn't stand by and let a madman with a baseball bat strike fear into communities, including their own, for the rest of their lives.

After what seemed like forever, Caesar outstretched his own hand, and grasped Rick's. As the two shook their hands, Caesar said, "Let's go to war."

 _Author's Note: Okay, I know that it's been_ _two months, and I'm really sorry about that! I've been really busy, and dealing with a lot of personal stuff in my life. However, I am trying to take my time with this story, and really trying to make this one great for you guys! Dedon53, glad to know you gave Chapter Three two thumbs up! HakaishinChampa, the first thing I made sure not to do in this story was kill of either Glenn or Abraham, and yeah, there will definitely be an all-out war. Killshot, I plan on making more chapters! Lots of chapters! Also, I'm glad you love the story, and hope you'll stick around for what I have in mind! Guest, I have one thing to say to you: APES! TOGETHER! STRONG! Anywho, thank you all for reading, please leave a review, and, as always, take care, and I'll see you in the next chapter! The Flying Hawaiian 001, signing off._


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